Brittany S. Pierce

She had only a few seconds to change the expression on her face from one of concern to a happy one - the closer she’d gotten to the door, the more clear Brittany’s voice had become, and the thoughts the blonde was having were very, very sad. She could feel a tug at the pit of her stomach as she herself remembered how news about her biological mother’s death had affected her. Even never knowing her, she felt a piece of herself die that day. Knowing that Brittany had lost a parent herself and shared that with her was both reassuring and unsettling.

But she had to quickly remind herself that Brittany was not even aware that she had this knowledge, so like most everything else she tended to hear of peoples’ thoughts, she pushed it to the back of her mind and focused on out-loud, physical conversation.

"Hi!" she breezed once she came back to the present, maneuvering her way through the front door and taking note of the little girl hiding behind Brittany. She seemed to be wondering awfully loudly about who their new visitor was. "No, I found your house okay. I just didn’t realize you lived out in a more woods-y part of town. It’s really pretty out here." She smiled again, adjusting the bag on her shoulder before carefully peering around Brittany so she could wave tentatively to the little blonde behind her. "Hello there," she greeted as warmly as possible but kept her distance. She knew all too well how shy kids could be. "My name’s Marley. I’m new to Lima and go to Brittany’s school… what’s your name?"

BRITTANY:

Little fingers held Brittany's legs tight as she tried to close the door. Emily was peeking from behind them, curious but also wary about who this new person was. It happened every time someone new came over or whenever she was introduced to someone new, whether it was at dance or at school. Blue curious eyes repaired the girl from head to toe, before stepping out of her hiding place. "Emily.." she mumbled, stumbling with her own feet as she stretched out her hand to the girl whose name was Marley. 

Marley surveyed the house in front of her, double-checking both the colorful scrawl on the piece of notebook paper Brittany had written on and the text on her phone to make sure she’d gotten the right place. It had to be, the number on the house was the same and everything, but she was a bit put-off by the location. Brittany’s family apparently lived further out from the town than most people from their school did, and just a short distance away, she could hear the faint sounds of some kind of creek or stream babbling. The land their property was on was very green and lush, and almost like out of some kind of fairy-tale setting. Only their house looked like an ordinary house. She could hear voices - or rather thoughts - faintly coming from the house. She wasn’t close enough yet to hear them very clearly, so after pocketing the paper, she started heading her way up the driveway.

Maybe it was silly to feel nervous about entering another person’s home, especially since she’d spent so much of her life going in and out of stranger’s houses, never staying for very long at all, but she’d also never been invited over to someone’s house purely for the sake of… well, hanging out. She knew that she and Brittany were meeting up mainly to work on a duet for glee club, but she couldn’t quite get past the mixture of feelings that accompanied it. ‘Just try to focus on the actual conversation,' she coached herself, trying to focus on her own inner voice over the voices from inside that were becoming clearer in her mind. 'Act normal. If you don’t give her a reason to think you’re strange, or can hear her thoughts, then you’ll be golden. Just do what people do when they normally hang out… whatever that is, anyway.’

Her own thoughts eventually got drawn out by a kind voice mulling over a to-do list that consisted of housework, errands, and various other odds and ends. She assumed the voice must’ve belonged to Brittany’s mother. She stepped up to the front door and took in a steadying breath, a silent reminder again to just be as normal as possible, before reaching out to knock three times.

BRITTANY

It had been a while since Brittany last had guests over at her house apart from Rachel and Santana. Both girls seemed to frequent her house on a weekly basis; but it had been a while since Brittany last invited someone new. She barely knew Marley. So far, all Brittany knew about the girl was that she was adopted and that she liked singing. It wasn't much, but deep inside, Brittany knew that she was a good person. She could sense it and if that hadn't been the case, she wouldn't have been expecting anyone. 

While she waited for Marley, Brittany sat by the living room. She watched as her little sister ran around, giggling as her cat Charity ran after her. It made the blonde smile, seeing Emily slowly going back to normal. Not that they could ever lead a 'normal' life, considering they weren't even human, but after all the tragedies they've gone through, little moments like these were needed. 

Brittany thought back on the day she found out about her dad's death. It had been so long, but it was still present, just like all the other negative events in their life. The blonde's thoughts were already drifting to a dark place when she heard the door. She instantly shoved them all off, not wanting to think about any of that at the moment and stood up. 

A small smile grew on her face as she felt Emily behind her, knowing well that she was too curious to mind her own business and stay in the living room while she attended the door. "Em.." Brittany mumbled, feeling as the six year old hid behind her the moment she took hold of the door, that opened fully to reveal Marley.